singular as it may appear, there is scarcely a single feature of similarity in the character of the james brothers. frank james is a man of more than ordinary education, and his manners show some effort at refinement. he is very slim, and not more than five feet six inches in height, and weighs about one hundred and forty pounds. he has blue eyes, very light hair and usually wears a shortly cropped full beard and straggling mustache, of a pale, reddish color. his face is peculiar in shape, being broad at the forehead and tapering abruptly from the cheek[pg 118] bones to the chin, which is almost pointed. in his motions he is neither naturally slow nor quick, but at times he affects either. his cunning and coolness are remarkable, and to compare the two boys in this respect would be like comparing the boldest highwayman with the lowest sneak thief, so great is frank's superiority. in the matter of education frank has improved his opportunities and is a student, being a lover of books and familiar with the different phases of life. he has murdered many men, and yet he is not destitute of mercy, and finds no gratification in deeds of blood. he has tried to imitate the traditions of claude duval, whose fictitious adventures frank has read until he can repeat them like the written narrative.
jesse james is a strongly made man, standing five feet ten inches in height, and will weigh one hundred and sixty-five pounds. he has brown eyes, dark hair and is of a nervous temperament. jesse's peculiarity is in his eyes which are never at rest. in his youth jesse was troubled with granulated eyelids from which he has never fully recovered, which is seen in the constant batting of his eyes and a slight irritation of the lids; besides this marked peculiarity, the first joint of the forefinger on his left hand is missing. he usually wears full whiskers of apparently one month's growth. his education is very limited, barely enabling him to read and write. he is revengeful in his nature, always sanguine, [pg 119]impetuous, almost heedless. it is due to frank james' strategy and jesse's desperate bravery that the latter has not long since been punished for his crimes. in deeds of violence jesse finds especial delight, and in his entire nature there is not a trace of mercy.
it is asserted, by those who know them best, that jesse and frank are only half-brothers, having the same mother, but that jesse's father is a physician in clay county. what truth there is in this report the writer does not assume the responsibility of confirming, giving it only as the assertion of many prominent men of clay county.
on one occasion, so george shepherd relates, while jesse and frank were dining with their mother, with shepherd as their guest, a dispute arose over a trivial matter, in which the brothers became very angry and drew their pistols. mrs. samuels made no effort to interfere, and the difficulty terminated without a fight. in the row frank told jesse that he knew they were not brothers, to which assertion neither jesse nor mrs. samuels made any reply.
it is well known among the confederates of the james boys, and it has been so declared by shepherd, the younger boys and cummings, that there was no love between frank and jesse, and shepherd told the writer that instead of frank avenging the attack on jesse at short creek he would applaud it. going still farther, shepherd said that at his last meeting with frank, two years ago, the latter [pg 120]declared he would kill jesse if he ever met him again; that jess, as he called him, had tried to have him (frank) ambushed and captured in texas, and that that was not the first time jess had played the stake to have him murdered.
the fact of jim cummings' association with frank james in the robbery of the mammoth cave stage coaches gives color of truth to shepherd's declaration that he killed jesse james near galena, or to cummings' statement that shepherd's shot, while not killing jesse, had paralyzed his brain and destroyed his mind.
frank james was married to miss annie ralston, of jackson county, in september, 1875. the marriage was one of those romantic episodes which brought great sorrow to mr. ralston, an industrious farmer living eight miles from kansas city. miss annie was but a school girl whose reading of dime novels had so far impaired her judgment as to make her long for the association of a hero. her meeting with frank james was accidental, but she had read of his exploits and he was her ideal. annie left her home clandestinely and met frank james many miles from the old homestead; a baptist minister performed the ceremony and the outlaw and his now ostracised wife went into the shadows of cave and forest, severing the bonds which bound them to society and civilization.
when mr. ralston learned of the desperate step taken by his daughter he was almost crazed with[pg 121] grief. he went direct to kansas city and, with eyes suffused with tears, begged judge mumford, of the times, to prepare for him and publish an article which would relieve him of the stigma which might attach to him by the error of his daughter. mr. ralston was anxious the public should know that he never had any association with the outlaw and that, though annie had been a child who had filled his heart with love, yet her alliance with a highwayman had banished the very memory of her from the fond heart which would know her no more. such an article did appear in the times, and if mr. ralston ever became reconciled to his bandit son-in-law his neighbors never learned the fact.
